CVE-2026-112048 in libspatialite
Summary
by MITRE • 10/18/2026
libspatialite through 5.1.0 fails to validate the polygon ring count in ParseWkbPolygon, allowing attackers to trigger uncontrolled interior-ring allocation via crafted geometry BLOBs. Attackers can supply a crafted polygon in a SpatiaLite database or ST_GeomFromWKB input to crash the process or corrupt heap memory on 32-bit builds.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/18/2026
The vulnerability identified in libspatialite versions through 5.1.0 represents a critical failure in boundary condition validation within the geometry parsing subsystem, specifically affecting the ParseWkbPolygon function. This component is responsible for interpreting Well-Known Binary (WKB) data structures, which are standard formats used to represent geometric objects such as points, lines, and polygons in spatial databases. The core technical flaw lies in the absence of rigorous checks on the polygon ring count before memory allocation occurs. In a valid WKB polygon structure, interior rings define holes within the main exterior boundary. When an attacker supplies a crafted geometry BLOB with an excessively large or malformed number of interior rings, the library fails to validate this parameter against expected limits or available system resources prior to initiating the allocation process. This lack of input validation allows for uncontrolled memory consumption patterns that deviate significantly from normal operational expectations.
The immediate operational impact of this flaw is severe instability within any application relying on libspatialite for spatial data processing. Because the vulnerability triggers during the parsing phase, it can be exploited remotely if an attacker has access to a SpatiaLite database or can inject crafted inputs via functions like ST_GeomFromWKB in compatible database engines such as PostgreSQL with PostGIS extensions that utilize this library. The primary manifestation of the exploit is a denial of service condition caused by heap memory corruption or process crashes. On 32-bit builds, where address space and memory management are more constrained compared to their 64-bit counterparts, the risk of triggering these failures is heightened due to stricter limits on contiguous memory allocation. An attacker can leverage this instability to disrupt services that depend on continuous availability, effectively rendering spatial analysis tools unusable until the service is restarted or the underlying process terminates unexpectedly.
From a classification perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-120 Buffer Overflow and CWE-787 Out-of-bounds Write if the memory corruption leads to overwriting adjacent heap metadata, as well as CWE-400 Uncontrolled Resource Consumption due to the potential for exhausting system resources through excessive allocation requests. In terms of adversarial tactics, this exploit vector corresponds to MITRE ATT&CK technique T1498 Network Denial of Service, specifically under sub-techniques involving resource exhaustion via volumetric attacks or application layer abuse. The ability to crash a process by sending malformed data is also indicative of CWE-20 Improper Input Validation, highlighting the fundamental security principle that all external inputs must be rigorously sanitized and validated against defined constraints before processing.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require both immediate patching and long-term architectural improvements. Users running libspatialite versions 5.1.0 or earlier should upgrade to a patched version where the ParseWkbPolygon function includes explicit checks for polygon ring counts, ensuring that allocations do not exceed safe thresholds defined by system limits or application logic. For organizations unable to immediately patch, implementing input validation at the database layer can provide a secondary defense mechanism. This involves sanitizing WKB inputs before they reach the spatial library functions, rejecting any geometry objects with suspiciously high numbers of interior rings based on known maximums for valid geographic features. Additionally, deploying runtime protection mechanisms such as heap hardening techniques and memory safety monitors can help detect and mitigate exploitation attempts that bypass application-level controls. Regular security audits focusing on C/C++ codebases should prioritize boundary checks in parsing routines to prevent similar resource exhaustion vulnerabilities from emerging in other components of the software stack.